Fundraisers get walking to raise thousands for children’s charity
TWO teams of fundraisers have been walking and climbing their way to raising thousands of pounds for a vital Wokingham charity.
Staff and supporters from Dingley’s Promise, based at All Saints School in Norrey’s Avenue, have recently taken part in the Wokingham Walk and staff and supporters of Dingley’s Promise have made the daredevil climb to the top of London’s iconic O2 Arena.
The Wokingham Walk, organised by the Lions Club, saw a team of eight staff and a family of five complete a fivemile walk around the town, starting and finishing at Elms Field.
The team raised around £900 for Dingley’s Promise, which offers life-changing support to children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in the Early Years with the aim of ensuring that every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Last weekend another group of staff and supporters then scaled the heady heights of the O2 Arena, raising more than £4,000 in the process.
One of the climbers, Dr Sarah Bryan, who is blind, completed the challenge with no walking aids, single-handedly raising £1,179.
She said: “I’m a member of Business Networking International and Catherine McLeod, Dingley’s CEO, is also a member and we do things to support the charity.
“I wanted to do something that would inspire people to
sponsor me that was a little but out there and a little bit more fun.
“What speaks to my heart about Dingley’s Promise is that it enables children to get support so that they can be in inclusive education which I never had.
“I was always in segregated education, yet there’s no reason why someone like myself couldn’t be educated in the
mainstream if the resources were there, which they’re generally not.”
It’s not the first time that Sarah has taken on a daring challenge – she once abseiled down a 13-storey halls of residence in Sheffield when she was a student.
Sarah, who lives in Bracknell and runs her own company helping active women overcome long term pain, added: “I’m going to keep the JustGiving page open and add to it with client cancellation fees from my business as Berkshire’s number one pain solution.”
Jo Evans, fundraising and communications manager at Dingley’s Promise, said: “Fundraising activities like these raise vital funds for Dingley’s Promise, which relies heavily on support from the local community.
“I like to say a huge thank you to everyone who gave up their spare time to help us to continue to provide our services and expand them so that more children and families can benefit.”
Dingley’s Promise, which also has centres in Reading, West Berkshire and Gloucester, is entering its 40th year of supporting SEND children.
The aim is to grow the reach of their specialist provision nationally to ensure that more children are given the opportunity to fulfil their potential, to support more families to increase confidence and access entitlements.
For more details, call the Wokingham centre on: 0118 977 1234, email: admin.wokingham@ dingley.org.uk, or log on to: dingley.org.uk